As NFL teams around the country begin to prepare for a new season, the United States national team is entering a situation that no other American football squad has ever encountered.

For the first time ever, the United States team, which is managed by USA Football, will make an appearance in the World Championship of American Football in Kawasaki, Japan.

Leading the U.S. team into the international tournament will be head coach John Mackovic, who has 35 years of experience as a head coach at the professional and collegiate level.

Mackovic served as the head coach for Wake Forest University (1978-1980), the Kansas City Chiefs (1983-1986), the University of Illinois (1988-91), the University of Texas (1992-1998) and the University of Arizona (2001-2003).

Aiding Mackovic will be backs and receivers coach Bob Berezowitz, offensive line coach Adam Dorrel, defensive coordinator George Darlington and defensive line coach Richard Cundiff.

The coaching staff will have a diversified bunch to work with as the team, which includes players who have exhausted their college eligibility, representing 45 Division I, II and III schools including the University of Michigan, Arizona, Western Michigan University and Iowa State University. The team plans to have a full 70-man preliminary roster completed by the end of May.

Team USA will compete in their first game of the tournament against Korea on July 10.  They will play Germany in their second game on July 12.  Both games will take place at Kawasaki Stadium.

To provide balance, the tournament is broken down into two three-team sections as France, Japan and Sweden will fill out the opposing bracket.

The championship game is scheduled to take place at Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki on July 15.

“We expect it to be a very competitive tournament, but without having seen any of these countries play it’s really hard to gauge what to expect from each one of them,” said Todd Bell, national team director of operations.

In order to prepare themselves for the unknown, the US team will take part in a training camp that will run from June 20 to July 4 in California. The team will depart for Kawasaki on July 4.

“We expect to get everyone’s best shot. We’re clearly going to be the team people are going to be gunning for,” said Bell, who has been the director of media relations for the American Football Coaches Association since 1998.

Even though the coaches are in the process of trying to land a dozen more players on the roster who are currently either fighting for a job somewhere in an NFL training camp or trying to obtain their degree and finish graduating, Bell still believes those already on the roster will have an impact--regardless of whoever joins the team. The official roster will be announced in May.

“We’re pretty excited about the fact that we’re going to have a good cross-section of players from all levels,” Bell said. “I think people will be surprised how small-college guys will do in this environment,” Bell said.

The first World Cup of American Football was held in 1999 while the second took place in 2003.  Like the Olympic Games, the tournament occurs every four years.

Check back on www.usafootball.com for additional updates about the national team, including updates about training camp, the roster and results.